Elizabeth T. Burkett

She was born in Norfolk on Sept. 19, 1928, and was the daughter of the late Cecil C. Smith and Elizabeth Leary. She was the widow of the late Tech Sgt. Allen Cleary Burkett. She was a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of service. She was a member of the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church and the Church Historian. She was past president of the Poquoson Garden Club, a member of the Retired Nurses Officer's Association and a graduate of Maryview School of Nursing in Portsmouth.

She is survived by a sister, Mary Ferris of Virginia Beach; eight nieces and six nephews; and nine cousins.

A Christian Wake service will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening in the chapel of Claytor Rollins Funeral Home with the Rev. Thomas J. Quinlan officiating. The family will receive friends after the Christian Wake service. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at noon on Friday, April 14, at Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church with the Rev. Thomas J. Quinlan officiating. Burial will be in Hampton National Cemetery with full Military Honors accorded at the grave site. At other times, the family will be at the residence of the sister, Mary Ferris, at 5719 Colter Court, Virginia Beach.

Memorial donations may be made in lieu of flowers to Lee's Friends, 618 Stockley Gardens, Norfolk, VA 23513.